Method and communication network for controlling the menu function of a mobile telephone

ABSTRACT

If a mobile telephone has sent a restricted delivery mode message to the network, also referred to as “Message Mode”, the mobile network sets a “Message Mode” flag in the user&#39;s profile. For an originating call the profile is accessed in the normal manner, and, if that flag is set, the network sends a “Message Only—Leave Message” announcement to the caller, together with a command signal to switch the caller&#39;s telephone into Write Messages mode so that the calling user can immediately enter a text message via the keypad without having to select manually the Write Messages function from the Messages function of the menu.

This application is the US national phase of international applicationPCT/GB01/01386 filed 28 Mar. 2001 which designated the U.S.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to communications methods and apparatus,and particularly, but not exclusively, to methods of operating mobilecommunications networks and to mobile telephones for use with mobilecommunications networks, and more particularly to remote selection of amenu function of such mobile telephones.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF NON-LIMITING EMBODIMENTS

In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention there isprovided a method of operating a communications network having a userprofile store, the method comprising the steps of:

retrieving a dialled destination number from signalling data of a callfrom a calling user to a called user;

accessing the user profile store in accordance with that retrieveddialled destination number to retrieve a corresponding user profile; and

if the retrieved user profile contains a predetermined indicationindicative of a corresponding condition associated with that calleduser, sending to the calling user a command for causing a telephoneassociated with the calling user to enter a predetermined menu functionassociated with that condition.

An advantage of the present invention is that the network anticipatesthe calling user's most likely next action and commands the telephone toenter a corresponding menu function, without requiring any input, e.g.key presses, by the calling user. This simplifies and minimises theactions required of the user.

The present invention is particularly beneficial in mobile networks,wherein users' mobile telephones have a menu system which is navigatedby key presses.

Preferably, said condition is that a telephone associated with thatcalled user has sent a restricted delivery mode message to the network,and said predetermined menu function is a write messages function.

More preferably, there is included the step of receiving at the networkfrom that calling user message data in text form, and in responsesending a message to the called user.

Preferably, said condition is that the called user is currentlyassociated with a network number that is different from the networknumber that he was previously associated with, and the command containsthe called user's current network number and also causes the telephoneassociated with the calling user to display that current network number,and said predetermined menu function is a telephone directory function.

More preferably, when the call from the calling user is made byselecting an entry from the telephone directory, said predetermined menufunction is an edit function of the telephone directory function.

When the call from the calling user is made by entering the destinationnumber via a keypad, said predetermined menu function is an add entryfunction of the telephone directory function.

Preferably, the network also sends to the telephone associated with thecalling user data indicative of the name of the called user for use bythe calling user in adding an entry to the telephone directory.

Preferably, the network sends the name of the called user in saidcommand.

Alternatively, the network may send the name of the called user in aseparate command in response to an acceptance signal sent from thetelephone associated with the calling user and indicating that thecalling user had activated the add entry function.

The command may be generated in accordance with menu structure dataretrieved from storage in accordance with a calling line identityretrieved from said signalling data.

Preferably, the user profiles may contain an identifier for telephoneequipment currently registered to the user, and said menu structure datamay be retrieved from a mapping of menu structure data against equipmentidentifier by accessing that mapping in accordance with an identifierretrieved from the calling user's profile.

Preferably, the command comprises a number sequence corresponding to amenu shortcut for said predetermined menu function.

In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention there isprovided a communications network having a user profile store, and beingarranged:

to retrieve a dialled destination number from signalling data of a callfrom a calling user to a called user;

to access the user profile store in accordance with that retrieveddialled destination number to retrieve a corresponding user profile; and

if the retrieved user profile contains a predetermined indicationindicative of a corresponding condition associated with that calleduser, to send to the calling user a command for causing a telephoneassociated with the calling user to enter a predetermined menu functionassociated with that condition.

Preferably, the network is arranged to respond to a said predeterminedindication indicative that a telephone associated with that called userhas sent a restricted delivery mode message to the network by generatingsaid command such as to cause the telephone associated with the callinguser to enter a write messages function.

More preferably, the network is arranged to receive from that callinguser message data in text form, and to respond by sending a message tothe called user.

Alternatively, the network is arranged to respond to a saidpredetermined indication indicative of the dialled destination numberbeing a non-current destination number associated with that called userto generate said command such as to include the called user's currentdestination number and also such as to cause the telephone associatedwith the calling user to enter a telephone directory function and todisplay that current destination number.

Preferably, the network is further arranged to send to the calling userthe name of the called user for use by the calling user in adding anentry to the telephone directory.

The network may be further arranged to send the name of the called userby including it in said command.

The network may be further arranged to respond to receipt of anacceptance signal sent from the telephone associated with the callinguser and indicating that the calling user had activated an add entryfunction to send the name of the called user in a separate command.

The network may be arranged to generate said command in accordance withmenu structure data retrieved from storage in accordance with a callingline identity retrieved from said signalling data.

The network may comprise a mapping of menu structure data againstequipment identifier, and have user profiles containing an identifierfor telephone equipment currently registered to the user, and bearranged to retrieve menu structure data by accessing that mapping inaccordance with an identifier retrieved from the calling user's profile.

The network may be arranged to include in said command a number sequencecorresponding to a menu shortcut for said predetermined menu function.

Specific embodiments of a mobile communications network and of a mobiletelephone for use with that network will now be described by way ofexample with reference to the drawings in which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a mobile telephone in accordance withthe present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a mobile communications network for usewith the mobile telephone of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a user profile for use in thecommunications network of FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF NON-LIMITING EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

In this description the following acronyms are used:

BSS—Base Switching Subsystem

CLI—Calling Line Indication, also known as Calling Line Identity,

GPRS—General Packet Radio Service

GSM—Global System for Mobile Communications (Groupe Speciale Mobile)

HLR—Home Location Register

IVR—Interactive Voice Response

LCD—Liquid Crystal Display

MSS—Mobile Switching Subsystem

NSS—Network Switching Subsystem

OSS—Network Switching Subsystem

SMS—Short Message System

VLR—Visitor Location Register

In FIG. 1 there is shown a mobile telephone 10 of the present inventionhaving components including a battery 12, a battery voltage sensingcircuit 14, a keypad 16, an LCD screen 18, an aerial 20, a receivecircuit 22, a transmit circuit 24 and a control unit 26.

The control unit 26 is arranged to receive inputs from the keypad 16,the sensing circuit 14, and the receive circuit 22, and to provideoutputs to the screen 18 and the transmit circuit 24. It is arranged toprovide mobile telephony functions as is known in the art, such assending and receiving calls and messages, and managing a menu, includinga telephone directory, also known as a phone book, and is furtherarranged in accordance with the present invention to provide additionalfunctions as described below.

The control unit 26 is arranged to respond to receipt via the receivecircuit 22 of various command signals from a host GSM network (FIG. 2)to enter its menu system and activate particular submenu functions,thereby enabling a user to make keyboard entries for those submenufunctions without any manual selection procedure. As used herein, theterms “command signal” and “command” are equivalent.

As is known in the art, a typical menu system comprises the main menufunctions: Phone Book; Messages; Call Register; Settings; Call Divert;Games; Calculator; Clock and Tones. Each main menu function has aplurality of submenu functions. For example, Phone Book includes thesubmenu functions Search; Add Entry; Erase; Edit; etc.: Messagesincludes the submenu functions Inbox; Outbox; Write Messages; etc: andCall Register includes the submenu functions Missed Calls; ReceivedCalls; Dialled Calls; etc. Some of the submenu functions themselves havesubmenu functions.

Before example scenarios are described, it is appropriate to describefirst the GSM network of FIG. 2.

In FIG. 2, there is shown a GSM network 30 constituted by foursubsystems, namely, Mobile Station Subsystem (MSS) 32, Base StationSubsystem (BSS) 34, Network and Switching Subsystem (NSS) 36 andOperation Subsystem (OSS) 38. Global communications is achieved byinterconnection of spaced apart national-based GSM networks operated bydifferent respective network operators.

The GSM system is well known to the skilled person in the art and isdescribed below only in high-level detail. However, should any readerrequire more information, he will find a number of publications on GSM,particularly, “The GSM System for Mobile Communications” by M. Mouly andM.-B. Pautet, ISBN 2-9507190-0-7, published 1992 by the authors thereof.

The MSS 32 comprises a plurality of the mobile telephones 10, and, until100% penetration of the mobile telephone market by mobile telephones 10,there will be a plurality of conventional mobile telephones 40, i.e.those not having the additional feature of the present invention.

The BSS 34 comprises a plurality of base transceiver stations 42 and aplurality of base station controllers 44, only one which is shown. Eachof the base station controllers 44 is connected to the NSS 36 and to aplurality of the base transceiver stations 42.

The NSS 36 comprises an exchange system 46 and user and terminalequipment databases 48. The exchange system 46 comprises a plurality ofinterconnected mobile services switching centres 50, only one which isshown, which are connected to the user and terminal equipment databases48.

The OSS 38 comprises an operation and maintenance centre 52 which isconnected, via a data network 54, to the BSS 34 and the NSS 36.

The user and terminal equipment databases 58 comprise a home locationregister (HLR) 56, a visitor location register (VLR) 58 and an equipmentidentity register 60.

A Voicemail system 62 is connected to the exchange system 46 andincludes an interactive voice response facility (IVR) 64 capable ofgenerating selected announcements, and a speech to text converter 66.

The HLR 56 is a database which stores user profiles 68 (FIG. 3), whichcontain user-specific information relevant to the provision oftelecommunications services and identifying whether a given teleserviceor bearer service can be provided for a user, and also containing userpreferences defining how the user wishes the network to handle calls.

The VLR 58 temporarily stores subscription data for users who arenormally registered with a different home GSM network and who arecurrently registered with the GSM network 30, i.e. under a roamingarrangement.

The user profiles 68 include a Delivery Mode field 70 containing a flagwhich, when set, is indicative that the GSM network had received from amobile telephone 10 associated with the corresponding user a messageaddressed to a predetermined destination address and containing a uniquecode for notifying that network that the delivery mode for calls to thatcalled user is to be “Message Only” mode, also referred to as restricteddelivery mode. That notification message is sent either automatically bythe mobile telephone when it enters low battery condition, or when theuser has selected Message Only mode, e.g. from the menu. If the DeliveryMode flag is not set, the delivery mode is referred to as unrestricteddelivery mode.

A mobile telephone which can send such a notification message when itenters low battery condition, and a variant mobile telephone which, whenit enters low battery condition, can switch automatically, or bemanually switched, between full and simplex operation, are disclosed inour co-pending European patent application number 00302738.0, filed on31st March 2000. It is not part of the present invention and will not bedescribed further. It is sufficient for the purposes of the presentinvention to understand that a user profile 68 can be interrogated inthe usual manner to ascertain how a call for that user should beprocessed, and that retrieval of the state of the Delivery Mode flag(field 70) is just one of the retrievable data items. The user profile68 employed by the GSM network 30 has a universal user profileconfiguration. In other words, some profile fields are not relevant tocertain types of mobile telephone, and in such a case the flags in thosefields will be permanently in their reset state. In variants, thenetwork is arranged to work with two or more types of user profiles,e.g. one type of profile will not have a Delivery Mode field 70, whilstanother type of profile will have such a Delivery Mode field 70. Herein,the flag contained in the Delivery Mode field 70 is also referred to asthe Delivery Mode flag.

The NSS 36 is arranged to respond to an incoming call having the abovementioned predetermined destination address by retrieving the messagecontent of that incoming call. Upon recognising the retrieved message asthe above mentioned unique code representative of the “Message Only”mode, the NSS 36 accesses the user profiles 68 in accordance with asource telephone number (calling line identity) retrieved from theincoming call, finds the corresponding user profile and changes itsDelivery Mode flag from its reset state to its set state. The NSS 36 isarranged to respond to an incoming call having the above mentionedpredetermined destination address and containing a companion unique coderepresentative of unrestricted delivery mode to access the user profiles68 in accordance with the source telephone number (calling lineidentity) retrieved from that incoming call, find the corresponding userprofile and changes its Delivery Mode flag from its set state to itsreset state. This latter message might be sent automatically by themobile telephone when its battery is recharged, or when the usermanually switches the mobile telephone from simplex operation to fulloperation.

In a first scenario, a calling user, also referred to as a caller,having a mobile telephone 10 originates a call and the NSS 36 respondsto that originating call by accessing the user profile 68 associatedwith the called number, and ascertaining, inter alia, the state of theDelivery Mode flag.

If the Delivery Mode flag in that user profile is in its set state, theNSS 36 checks the user's preferences (in fields 72, 74 of the profile)and, if this service feature, i.e. receipt of a Short Message System(SMS) message whilst in “Message Only” Mode, has not been deselected bythat called user, sends an announcement selection signal to theVoicemail system 62 for generating by the IVR 64 the selectedannouncement, “The number you have called is in Message Mode. You mayspeak a short message or key a text message.”, and also sends to thatcalling mobile telephone 10 a first predetermined command signal.

The Short Message System technology is well known in the art and willnot be described further.

The NSS 36 has also retrieved the caller's CLI and accesses the caller'sprofile to retrieve from an equipment identifier field 76 dataindicative of the make and model of the telephone currently registeredto the caller. The NSS 36 refers to a mapping table stored in the HLR56, which maps that telephone to its menu structure type, and retrievesa type identifier. Using that type identifier, the NSS 36 now accessesthe corresponding menu structure table, also stored in the HLR 56, inaccordance with a Write Messages identifier to retrieve a numericsequence command code, e.g. “23”. The NSS 36 now constructs a commandsignal containing that sequence and a universal command code forcommanding the control unit to enter its menu system, and sends it tothe caller's telephone 10.

The control unit 26 in the caller's telephone 10 is arranged for directcontrol by such a received command signal, and responds to receipt ofthat command signal by automatically selecting the Write Messagessubmenu function of the Messages function. This converts the keypad 16of the caller's mobile telephone 10 from numeric entry to alpha entry,in preparation for any text message that might be entered by the caller.It will be appreciated that the caller's telephone 10 has been commandedto enter its menu system; to select the Messages function, which forthat particular telephone is in second position in the main menu; and toselect the Write Messages function, which is in third position in theMessages submenu. This is known in the art as accessing a menu functionby its shortcut, but the previously known use of the shortcut has beenonly by user input via the key pad of the telephone.

If the caller had been using a telephone having a different menustructure, the NSS 36 would have been directed by the mapping tables tothe appropriate menu structure table, and would have constructed acorresponding command signal containing the universal command code and adifferent numeric sequence for entering the same Write Messagesfunction.

Now that the caller's mobile telephone 10 has been automaticallyswitched into Write Messages submenu function, the keypad is immediatelyavailable for the caller to use to create a text message. When he hasfinished creating the text message, he sends the message by selectingOptions, and then Send. In a variant, the control unit 26 responds tothe first key press by offering the Send function under a select softkey, so that when the caller has completed the message he sends it bymeans of a single press of the select soft key. In another variant, thecontrol unit 26 the NSS 36 responds to the first key press bytransmitting a code signal to the network indicating that the user hasstarted to compose an SMS message, and the NSS 36 responds to this codesignal by sending a further command signal to control the telephone tooffer the Send function under the select soft key.

If the caller decides not to compose an SMS message but to speak amessage instead, this is received by the IVR 64 and passed to the speechto text converter 66 to be converted into the appropriate format to besent to the called number as an SMS message.

The NSS 36 receives the text message sent by the caller, or the textmessage output from the speech to text converter 66 should the callernot have availed himself of the immediate use of the Write Messagessubmenu function and spoken a message instead, and generates an SMSmessage and sends that to the called number.

In a second scenario, a user might have changed his network number forsome reason, i.e. to a new network number from a previous networknumber. If a caller originates a call to the previous network number,the NSS 36 accesses the user profiles in the usual manner, and retrievesa profile, referred to as the “old” profile, corresponding to thatprevious network number. This profile will contain a pointer to anotherprofile, referred to as the “new” profile, corresponding to that newnetwork number. The NSS 36 now checks the “new” profile to see thatthere is no prohibition on the release of that new network number, e.g.that a Restricted Number flag 78 or a Number Withheld flag 80 is not inits set state, and connects the call to the new network number. Thepointer to the “new” profile constitutes a predetermined indication ofthe present invention, and the corresponding condition is that thecalled user has a new network number.

The user's “old” profile will be deleted if the network administrationre-allocates the old network number to another user. This prevents twoprofiles existing in respect of the same network number.

In a variant, instead of using “old” and “new” profiles, the profileshave a field for current network number, and a field for previousnetwork number, and the profiles are accessed by matching either ofthese fields with the dialled number, since it will be appreciated thatcallers will dial either the old network number or the new networknumber. Where a profile has been retrieved on the basis of a matchbetween the dialled number and the number in the previous network numberfield, the call is connected to the called user at the new networknumber, and the presence of that number in the previous network numberfield constitutes a predetermined indication of the present invention.The network administration deletes the content of the previous networknumber field if the old network number is re-allocated to another user,or after a fixed period of, say, one year.

In these circumstances, in addition to automatically routing that callto the new network number, the NSS 36 first accesses the mapping tablesas described above in the first scenario to retrieve a numeric sequencecorresponding to Number Entry, sends an announcement selection signal tothe Voicemail system 62 for generating by the IVR 64 the selectedannouncement, “Your call is being connected. Please note that the calledparty has a new number which is being sent to you”, and also generatesand sends to that calling mobile telephone 10 a Phone Book Updatecommand signal.

The Phone Book Update command signal contains the universal code forcommanding the control unit 26 to enter its menu system, the numericsequence “13”, which selects the Phone Book function followed by the AddEntry submenu function, a second code for commanding a number entry partas opposed to a name entry part, and the new network number. Invariants, the control unit 26 is arranged to select automatically thenumber entry part of the Add Entry submenu function in response toreceipt of the Phone Book Update command signal, regardless of whetherit contains that second code.

The control unit 26 does not immediately enter the Add Entry submenufunction upon receipt of the Phone Book Update command signal, butperforms a preliminary check to ascertain whether the original call hadbeen made after selection from its Phone Book. If not, then it willprovide a display for the entry of a number as part of the Add Entrysubmenu function and display in the text box of that display the newnetwork number. If the caller wishes to add this number as a new entryto his Phone Book he presses a Navigator Key whose text is now reading“OK”.

The control unit 26 responds to that manual command by sending a messageto the GSM network 30 indicative of the caller's acceptance of the offerto add that new number to his Phone Book. In response, the NSS 36 sendsa Add Entry command signal containing the name of the called party and acode for commanding control unit 26 to select the part of the Add Entrysubmenu function which displays a text box for the entry of a name, ifit is not already doing so, and to display in the text box of thatdisplay the name of the called party. In a variant, the name of thecalled party is sent in the Phone Book Update command signal, and storedby the control unit 26 in readiness for use in this procedure.

If the caller wishes to add the offered name he presses a Navigator Keywhose text is now reading “OK”. Otherwise he can cancel the displayedname and enter his own text. Alternatively, he can accept the offeredname and then edit it using the Edit submenu function of the Phone Book.

If the preliminary check ascertains that the original call had been madeafter selection from its Phone Book, the control unit 26 will know, bymeans of the Dialled Numbers submenu function of its Call Registerfunction, the particular Phone Book entry, and instead of responding tothe Phone Book Update command signal by switching to the Add Entrysubmenu function, now responds by entering the Edit submenu function ofthe Phone Book, automatically selecting that particular Phone Book entryand displaying the received new network number instead of the existingnumber of that particular Phone Book entry. The Navigator Key text willnow read “OK”, and the caller can accept the offered number by pressingthe Navigator Key.

In a variation of this second scenario, the control unit is programmedto compare the CLI of an incoming call with the entries of the phonebook (this is a known act for displaying the stored name of a matchingentry) and if there is no matching entry it will send a request messageto the network for a name associated with that CLI. This name can be thesurname in the account details of the calling user, or it can beretrieved from a user-name field of the user's profile, if the callinguser has previously supplied a name. This might be his preferred name,which might be a nickname or any other name different from the accountsurname.

When the called user ends the call, the control unit 26 nowautomatically selects the Add Entry function and enters the receiveddata. This can be the number entry part first, followed by the namepart, or the other way around. The called user can now choose to make anew entry in the same way as described above.

In a third scenario, when the NSS 36 delivers an SMS message for acalled user, it also sends a Write Messages command signal so as toanticipate that the called user will wish to respond by composing areply message via the key pad. The NSS 36 will have retrieved the calleduser's equipment type identifier from his profile, referred to themapping to find the menu structure type, and generated the commandsignal comprising the appropriate shortcut numeric sequence.

In a fourth scenario, the network is arranged for delivery of e-mailmessages to a called user's mobile telephone, and when it sends such ane-mail message it also sends an appropriate command signal, generated inthe same manner as for the third scenario, so as to anticipate that thecalled user will wish to respond by composing a reply e-mail message viathe key pad. This command signal selects a Write E-mail function of thefunction menu.

Whereas in the above described embodiment the network 30 is a GSMnetwork, it will be appreciated that this is not a limiting factor ofthe present invention and that the network 30 could equally well be aGeneral Packet Radio Service (GPRS) network.

Whereas in the above described embodiment the control messages from themobile telephone sent to the above mentioned predetermined telephonenumber are received directly by the NSS 36 and handled by the profilemanagement program forming part of the control programs of the NSS 36,this profile management program managing the fields of the user'sprofile, e.g. changing the state of flags, entering addresses andnumbers, and changing or deleting them, in a variant the controlmessages are received at the operation and maintenance centre 52, andthe management of the profile in the NSS 36 is performed remotely bycontrol programs in the operation and maintenance centre 52, or manuallyby network operations personnel at the operation and maintenance centre52 if the user communicates his intentions for profile change otherwisethan by the control messages sent from his mobile telephone.

Whereas in the above mentioned variant, the NSS 36 retrieves a storedmenu function identifier from a field 82 associated with SMS messages,and sends a menu function command signal in association with the SMSmessage, in a further variant the menu function command signal isincorporated within a modified alert command message transmitted to thecalled user's mobile telephone to trigger its internal ringer. In thiscase, the mobile telephone simultaneously rings and auto-configures inaccordance with the menu function command, ready for the called user torespond. The modified alert command message might include otheradditional information for use by the called user's mobile telephone forcontrol of its operation or for display.

Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, throughout thedescription and the claims, the words “comprise”, “comprising” and thelike are to be construed in an inclusive as opposed to an exclusive orexhaustive sense; that is to say, in the sense of “including, but notlimited to”.

1. A method of operating a communications network having a user profilestore, the method comprising the steps of: retrieving a dialleddestination network number from signalling data of a call from a callinguser to a called user; accessing the user profile store in accordancewith that retrieved dialled destination number to retrieve acorresponding user profile; and if the retrieved user profile contains apredetermined indication indicative of a corresponding conditionassociated with that called user, sending to the calling user a commandfor causing a telephone associated with the calling user to enter apredetermined menu function associated with that condition; wherein saidcondition is that a telephone associated with that called user has senta restricted delivery mode message to the network, and wherein saidpredetermined menu function is a write text messages function.
 2. Amethod as claimed in claim 1, wherein said command is generated inaccordance with menu structure data retrieved from storage in accordancewith a calling line identity retrieved from said signalling data.
 3. Amethod as claimed in claim 2, wherein user profiles contain anidentifier for telephone equipment currently registered to the user, andsaid menu structure data is retrieved from a mapping of menu structuredata against equipment identifier by accessing that mapping inaccordance with an identifier retrieved from the calling user's profile.4. A method as claimed in claim 3, wherein said command comprises anumber sequence corresponding to a menu shortcut for said predeterminedmenu function.
 5. A method of operating a communications network havinga user profile store, the method comprising the steps of: retrieving adialled destination network number from signalling data of a call from acalling user to a called user; accessing the user profile store inaccordance with that retrieved dialled destination number to retrieve acorresponding user profile; and if the retrieved user profile contains apredetermined indication indicative of a corresponding conditionassociated with that called user, sending to the calling user a commandfor causing a telephone associated with the calling user to enter apredetermined menu function associated with that condition, wherein saidcondition is that a telephone associated with that called user has senta restricted delivery mode message to the network, and wherein saidpredetermined menu function is a write messages function; and receivingat the network from that calling user message data in text form, and inresponse sending a message to the called user.
 6. A method as in claim5, wherein said condition is updated based on information provided by orthrough a telephone associated with the called user.
 7. The method as inclaim 5, wherein the restricted delivery mode message sent from thetelephone associated with that called user to the network is indicativeof a low battery condition of the telephone associated with that calleduser.
 8. The method as in claim 5, wherein the restricted delivery modemessage sent from the telephone associated with that called user to thenetwork is indicative of a user-selected message-only mode selected onthe telephone associated with that called user.
 9. A method of operatinga communications network having a user profile store, the methodcomprising the steps of: retrieving a dialled destination network numberfrom signalling data of a call from a calling user to a called user;accessing the user profile store in accordance with that retrieveddialled destination number to retrieve a corresponding user profile; andif the retrieved user profile contains a predetermined indicationindicative of a corresponding condition associated with that calleduser, sending to the calling user a command for causing a telephoneassociated with the calling user to enter a predetermined menu functionassociated with that condition; wherein said condition is that thecalled user is currently associated with a network number that isdifferent from the network number that he was previously associatedwith, wherein the command contains the called user's current networknumber and also causes the telephone associated with the calling user todisplay that current network number, and wherein said predetermined menufunction is a telephone directory function; and the call from thecalling user was made by entering the destination number via a keypad,and wherein said predetermined menu function is an add entry function ofthe telephone directory function.
 10. A method as claimed in claim 9,wherein the network also sends to the telephone associated with thecalling user data indicative of the name of the called user for use bythe calling user in adding an entry to the telephone directory.
 11. Amethod as claimed in claim 10, wherein the network sends the name of thecalled user in said command.
 12. A method as claimed in claim 10,wherein the network sends the name of the called user in a separatecommand in response to an acceptance signal sent from the telephoneassociated with the calling user and indicating that the calling userhad activated the add entry function.
 13. A communications networkhaving a user profile store, and being arranged: to retrieve a dialleddestination number from signalling data of a call from a calling user toa called user; to access the user profile store in accordance with thatretrieved dialled destination number to retrieve a corresponding userprofile; if the retrieved user profile contains a predeterminedindication indicative of a corresponding condition associated with thatcalled user, to send to the calling user a command for causing atelephone associated with the calling user to enter a predetermined menufunction associated with that condition; and to respond to a saidpredetermined indication indicative that a telephone associated withthat called user has sent a restricted delivery mode message to thenetwork by generating said command such as to cause the telephoneassociated with the calling user to enter a write messages function. 14.A network as claimed in claim 13, arranged to receive from that callinguser message data in text form, and to respond by sending a message tothe called user.
 15. A network as claimed in claim 13, and arranged togenerate said command in accordance with menu structure data retrievedfrom storage in accordance with a calling line identity retrieved fromsaid signalling data.
 16. A network as claimed in claim 15, comprising amapping of menu structure data against equipment identifier, and havinguser profiles containing an identifier for telephone equipment currentlyregistered to the user, and being arranged to retrieve menu structuredata by accessing that mapping in accordance with an identifierretrieved from the calling user's profile.
 17. A network as claimed inclaim 16, and arranged to include in said command a number sequencecorresponding to a menu shortcut for said predetermined menu function.18. A communications network as in claim 13 wherein said condition isupdated based on information provided by or through a telephoneassociated with the called user.
 19. The network as in claim 13, whereinthe restricted delivery mode message sent from the telephone associatedwith that called user to the network is indicative of a low batterycondition of the telephone associated with that called user.
 20. Thenetwork as in claim 13, wherein the restricted delivery mode messagesent from the telephone associated with that called user to the networkis indicative of a user-selected message-only mode selected on thetelephone associated with that called user.
 21. A communications networkhaving a user profile store, and being arranged: to retrieve a dialleddestination number from signalling data of a call from a calling user toa called user: to access the user profile store in accordance with thatretrieved dialled destination number to retrieve a corresponding userprofile: if the retrieved user profile contains a predeterminedindication indicative of a corresponding condition associated with thatcalled user, to send to the calling user a command for causing atelephone associated with the calling user to enter a predetermined menufunction associated with that condition; to respond to a saidpredetermined indication indicative of the dialled destination numberbeing a non-current current destination number associated with thatcalled user to generate said command such as to include the calleduser's current destination number and also such as to cause thetelephone associated with the calling user to enter a telephonedirectory function and to display that current destination number; tosend to the calling user the name of the called user for use by thecalling user in adding an entry to the telephone directory.
 22. Anetwork as claimed in claim 21, and further arranged to send the name ofthe called user by including it in said command.
 23. A network asclaimed in claim 21, and further arranged to respond to receipt of anacceptance signal sent from the telephone associated with the callinguser and indicating that the calling user had activated an add entryfunction to send the name of the called user in a separate command.